Tet Road Trip - Cua Lo to Hanoi

We had quite a long drive to make it to Hanoi by the evening but we made good progress and thanks to quite empty roads in parts it was easy to drive fast.

A detour however added an extra hour to our journey and Google maps again decided the best way into Hanoi is to go through every single small village and narrow road instead of staying on the main roads.

The detour also meant we couldn't really enjoy the great scenery around Ninh Binh as much as we would have likes as it got late.

Still, we made it to Hanoi by dinner time and after dinner and some beers we were taking it easy and enjoying the new year celebrations here.

New Year is certainly a different celebration here than it is in Europe but it's very interesting.


So let me wish all Vietnamese friends a 'Happy New Year 2017!' or 'Chuc mung nam moi!'.

Tam Coc to Sam Son

The day started a bit grey and overcast but the area around Tam Coc and Ninh Binh is still great and very scenic.

Since the plan was to take the late evening train back to Hue, I had more than enough time to just enjoy driving around the area, enjoy the landscape and take photos.

It was great and I spent the whole morning just taking in the landscape without visiting too many places around.

After lunch, when trying to buy the train tickets was when I had to change plans slightly. While I could get a train ticket for myself, they could only deliver my motorbike in Hue in 5 days.

While I don't need my motorbike on a daily basis and it would probably be good for me to start doing some more walking, having it standing around in Ninh Binh wasn't really what I wanted.

So instead of waiting around, I decided to try my luck in Tanh Hoa, around 60km south or 80km via the scenic route. As far as government employees go, the ones in Vietnam all go home at 4pm so I didn't make it in time to the train station so had to spend the night.
Sam Son is only 16km from Tanh Hoa by the seaside so I figured it's the nicer place to stay at for the night.

Hanoi to Ninh Binh

After spending over a week in Hanoi it was time to head out and go for a road trip somewhere.
The plan was to go north to Sapa and Ha Giang but timing and some things with my cafe to sort out meant that I had to head back to Hue earlier.

It was pouring down with rain the whole morning so I almost expected to have to cancel he trip. Lucky it stopped by around lunchtime so despite being a bit late, I decided to head to Ninh Binh and Tam Coc via a scenic route.

The drive was great and indeed very scenic, I enjoyed being on the road and seeing the great landscape and nice small towns pass by as I made my way to Ninh Binh.

It started pouring again halfway through my journey but I didn't let that stop me and with a raincoat on I continued till the rain stopped and I could enjoy the remaining drive to Ninh Binh and then Tam Coc to spend the night (after having some bia hoi).

Day 141 - The Ho Chi Minh Trail to Ninh Binh

I set off after breakfast and after rush hour in Hanoi to head down south to Ninh Binh.

Part of the journey lead me on the same road as on my last trip there so I decided to change it up a bit and head on to Ho Chi Minh road for a while and see how it is.

It is a very good road with little traffic so easy to drive and make good progress. The views while not as nice as on the smaller roads are still very nice and much better than on the AH1 road frequented by most traffic heading south.

After enjoying a late coffee and checking it to the hotel, I walked around Ninh Binh to check out the Christmas decorations of a nearby church and find a Bia Hoi place.